Page 19 of The Brave and the Reckless (Bravetown #1)

I rolled my head and groaned. As annoyed as I was with Noah, I’d come here on a mission to make friends with Tornado, so I stroked the silky hair under his jaw. It took a second for the slow thrumming to register against my fingertips. “You want me to feel his pulse?”

“Yes.”

My fingers stilled over the steady beating. I instinctively started counting. “It’s so slow. Is he okay? ”

“He’s fine. Just feel it.”

Tornado huffed and nudged his forehead deeper into me, forcing me to hold on tighter to him to stop from tumbling backward.

His head was the size of my entire torso.

Which meant feeling his pulse turned into a full horse hug.

I sighed and slid my second hand closer to the first, tracing the slow beat beneath his hair. Even a clock ticked faster.

I counted again, but by the time I got to twenty-three, my mind wandered to Tornado’s warmth seeping into me.

I started again and made it to seventeen before I got distracted by the way his coat was all silk in one direction and a little stubby the other way.

By the third time I counted, I barely made it past ten before my eyes fell shut and my breathing started matching Tornado’s slow in- and exhales.

I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, but when I blinked, my skin was warm, my muscles soft, and the light seemed too bright.

“Go home. Get some sleep,” Noah said, voice low.

Right. I’d forgotten he was here. My arms fell off Tornado and the horse shook his head, taking a step back.

I raised my brows but couldn’t even look at Noah.

Something had passed between me and his horse, and it was strange and vulnerable, and I didn’t want his judgy glare to ruin it.

“So I’m well rested and don’t fuck up the show tomorrow? ”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Sure,” I muttered and slipped out the box’s gate, still not meeting his gaze. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Young.”

I had not gotten any sleep.

Actually, I’d gotten like two hours of sleep. Non-consecutively.

I wasn’t ready to disappoint a whole town and the whole damn Bravetown fandom.

I shouldn’t have scrolled last night. I had ended up spending most of my waking minutes on the videos Noah was reposting, and then the various hashtags, and then everything that had been posted about the previous Annie Lou.

They loved her. There were very few people who criticized the character for being outdated or too much of a damsel in distress.

Especially since more and more female characters had been added over the years.

The Pretty Annie Lou was the OG. She was Snow White.

You didn’t criticize Snow White for being saved by a prince.

And people wondered about me. At least the concept of me.

The new Annie Lou. Lindsey was posting content from working as a performer on a cruise ship.

People had figured out that there was no way for her to be on the open ocean and in Bravetown simultaneously.

To the fans, Lindsey’s replacement was one big mystery.

On any other day, I would have been expected to make my rounds in the park for an hour before the show. I’d gotten scripts to memorize and very clear instructions on how to interact with the little kids. It was supposed to make it that much more of an emotional journey when Annie got abducted.

For my big debut, however, Renee wanted me to come on to the scene without a soft launch beforehand.

There were closed-off walkways for staff, so I stayed behind the scenes as I made my way over to the changing rooms. I peeked from the first-floor windows at the massive crowd that was gathering in the park.

The last two weeks had seemed busy, but it was nothing to the mass of visitors now gathering under the bright sun.

You could tell exactly where some of the cast members were out to take pictures with and chat to the visitors, because people crammed around in circles, phones raised above their heads.

Every one of them was accompanied by at least one or two other staff members in bright-red cowboy hats, keeping the crowd under control.

My stomach tightened. I’d have to do that tomorrow. And if I fucked up, someone would post it on their socials.

I closed my eyes, balled my hands into fists, and reminded myself of the feel of Tornado’s soft coat and his slow heartbeat.

“Did someone here order some liquid courage?” Adriana popped her head into the dressing room with a big toothy grin. She poked one arm through the door, a bottle of Jack in hand.

“I think I’ll throw up if you make me drink that right now.”

“Sugary courage?” She slipped in fully and held her second hand up, holding a huge bag of Reese’s Pieces.

“I love you.”

She dropped the candy on the vanity in front of me before scanning the name plaques and leaving the whiskey at Lucas’s assigned space. She grabbed one of the tissues and pressed a lipstick kiss on to it, draping it artfully around the bottle.

I raised my brows at her .

“If he asks, tell him it’s from a secret admirer but you didn’t recognize her. It’s going to drive him mad all summer.” She laughed and plopped into the seat next to me. “Ready for your close-up?”

“Nope.”

“Want a pep talk?”

“Sure.”

“You’re in. You’re part of Bravetown. No matter what happens out there, for better or worse, this town sticks together.

We got you. It takes a lot to make them hate you.

I know that first-hand, okay? You can fuck up your stunt.

You can forget your lines. You can probably make a child cry by saying the wrong thing and you’ll get a slap on the wrist at most. Nobody’s going to kick you out if you’re not perfect on your first day. ”

“Okay, come on, what did you do?”

Adriana sighed. “I’ll tell you if you don’t fall off the horse today.”

“Deal.”

I finished my makeup while Adriana chattered about the summer cocktail menu they were doing at the saloon.

She helped me fit my microphone around my ear and under my hair to make it as invisible as possible.

My apron had a hidden pocket on the inside, where I dropped my phone and the mic pack after switching it on.

“Hello?” I tentatively pressed the earpiece.

“Hey Esra,” Austin’s familiar voice replied, “are you on your way?”

“Leaving the dressing room now.”

Adriana walked with me to the point where I could slip into the back of the town hall building and use it as my entry point into the park. She drew me into a tight hug. “You’ve got this.”

“Thank you.” My voice came out shaky and I had to force myself to leave her hug and push through the staff door. “I’m in the town hall,” I whispered into my mic, not entirely sure how soundproof the building was.

“Ez?” Sinan’s voice crackled through my earpiece.

“Yeah?”

“Break a leg.”

Before I could reply, a whole chorus of voices chimed in, wishing me luck and offering words of encouragement. Maybe Adriana was right. They’d all seen me suck yesterday and they were still cheering me on.

“Thank you, guys,” I muttered.

Alongside Adriana’s words, Noah’s voice suddenly echoed through my head. The whole town needed this park, the show, the characters… This support was a two-way street, and I wasn’t sure I could hold up my end.

“Everyone’s in position,” Renee said, “whenever you’re ready, Esra.”

I wasn’t ready. This was too much. I never wanted this amount of responsibility.

“Have fun out there.”

I blinked at the four words– and the familiar voice they’d come from. Noah Young telling me to have fun? Had I already fallen off the horse and hit my head?

I shook my head, trying to lose the echo of people from my mind.

I was going to go out there in my silly costume and run around and scream and ride a horse. I got to play cowgirl dress-up. That was fun. The rest didn’t matter .

“Here we go,” I sighed and pushed through the doors.

For a moment, I was fine. The bright sunlight drowned out everything else as I stepped outside and skipped down the stairs on to the dusty road like I’d done countless times over the last week.

Then the cheering filtered in. People had been waiting for the Pretty Annie Lou, and they greeted her with applause and whistles.

And I wasn’t allowed to look. They were all watching from the sidelines of the town square.

The weight of their eyes pressed down on my shoulders and lashed around my lungs like a corset.

Fighting every instinct to stare back, I focused squarely on Richard, who played Annie’s father, as he called me over and delivered some lines about Bravetown.

The first part of the show ran smoothly. I didn’t have any lines. While the storyline of Ace and the sheriff was set up, I was passing out plastic flowers from my apron to some of the other cast members in the town square.

But then the robbery started. I shrieked at the first explosion because it was twice as loud as the rehearsal.

I wasn’t supposed to shriek. Shit.

I twisted around, trying to find Richard, finding my way back into the story where he hauled us into the bank– instead, I found the audience. Hundreds of people. Watching. Waiting. Staring at us. At me.

I wasn’t supposed to look at them. Fuck.

“Run! We’ll be safe in there!” Richard’s lines and his hand around my elbow snapped me back into the moment.

We hauled up the stairs of the bank and through the doors.

As soon as we were out of sight, he dropped my arm and gave me a curt smile and nod.

A few more people filtered in behind us.

Then the doors fell shut and a small orange light above it flickered on. Our signal to wait.

Right now, the bandits were causing mayhem outside. They had stunts that involved knives and fire, and some serious horseback acrobatics, getting the audience riled up.

I closed my eyes and mentally replayed my fuck-ups from outside. At least the horror on my face must have looked hyper-realistic.